Rail splice clamp



Sept. 16,: 1941. R. J. CHAPMAN 2,256,192

RAIL SPLICE CLAMP Filed Sept. 6, 1940 INVENTOR. Y 84 rpm/v0 J CHAP/Zd/V.

Wax/27W ATTORNEYJ.

Patented Sept. 16, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAIL SPLICE CLAMP Raymond J. Chapman, Orange Township, Noble County, Ind.

Application September 6, 1340, Serial No. 355,558

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in rail splice clamps. More particularly, the invention relates to a device by means of which the splice plates to be secured to adjacent rail sections at a rail joint may be clamped in operative relation to the rail sections while the splice plates are being secured to the rail sections.

The primary object of the invention is to pro- Vide a device of this character which is novel and simple in construction, inexpensive to'manufacture, and easy to operate.

A further object is to provide a device for clamping rail splice plates which shiftably carries a pin for aligning bolt receiving apertures of said splice plates and of the rails to be spliced during the operation of clamping the plates in operative relation to the rails.

A further object is to provide a device of this character comprising a pair of pivotally interconnected clampmembers, wherein one of said members carries a slidable aligning pin, and the other of said members is forked to accommodate positioning of said pin in intersecting relation thereto.

A further object is to provide a device of this character by means of which splice plates are urged to operative position with respect to adjacent rails at a rail joint during the operation of clamping the plates to the rail.

A further object is to provide a unitary device of this character for maintaining an aligned relation between the apertures of splice plates on opposite sides of the web of a rail, and for clamping said splice plates to the rail while maintaining the alignment of said apertures.

Other objects will be apparent from the specification and appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my new device.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional View of a rail and splice plate at a rail joint, and illustrates my clamp in side elevation with parts broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view illustrating the application of my clamp to splice plates at a rail joint.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan View of my clamp applied to splice plates at a rail joint.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral Ill designates one railroad rail section, and the numeral I I a second rail section, which rail sections are abutted at l2 to form a joint. The rails I!) and II are of complementary construction and each comprises a base I3, a web I4 and a head I5. The rail sections are adapted to be rigidly secured in alignment by means of splice plates I6 positioned at opposite sides of said rails at said joint. The splice plates each comprise a web I1, a base portion I8 adapted to seat solidly upon the upper surface of one side of the railv base I3, and a head I9 adapted to fit solidly under one side of the rail head I5. The web I4 of each rail section is provided with a plurality of spaced apertures 20, and the webs ll of the splice plates I6 are likewise provided with a plurality of similarly spaced apertures 2 I. The splice plates I5 are adapted to be rigidly secured at opposite sides of the rail in clamping relation thereto by bolts extending through said apertures 20, 2!, and fastened by nuts 22.

For the purpose of clamping the splice plates to the rails II] and II so as to positively align the heads I5 of said rails and at the same time to maintain alignment of the bolt holes 20 and 2| in said rails and splice plates preparatory to applying said bolts and nuts 22, I have provided a device of which one embodiment is illustrated in the drawing.

My device comprises a frame 25 comprising a pair of spaced, parallel, complementary, rigid, longitudinally curved flat bars 26. The curvature of these bars is substantially semi-circular, although it will be understood that various other shapes may be employed with equal facility;

Bars 26 are rigidly interconnected substantially centrally of their length by a cross plate 27.

A lever 28 is positioned between the frame bars 23 adjacent one end thereof, and is pivoted thereto at 29. The lower end of the lever 28 is bifurcated, with the forks 30 thereof positioned laterally outwardly from the body of the lever. The forks .35 are'bent forwardly in a curvature of approximately degrees, and the free ends of the forks Mare-bent downwardly and outwardly to form hooked portions at 3 I. The convex faces of the forks are preferably toothed or serrate at 32 adjacent hook portions 3|. A bearing 33 is positioned between bars 26 adjacent the end thereof opposite lever pivot 29, and

is pivotally connected thereto at 34. The bearing 33 has a bore extending centrally therethrough with the axis of said bore transverse to the pivot axis of thebearing. An elongated rigid pin 35 is slidably mounted in said bore. Pin 35 is preferably provided with an enlargement or collar 36 intermediate its ends. I

The operation of the device is as follows: When the same is to be applied to the splice plates I6 at the rail joint I 2, the lever 28 is pivoted to a position wherein it substantially engages the block 21. The ends 31 of the frame 25 are positioned against the lower outer edge of the base I8 of one splice plate I6, with the remainder of the frame 25 spanning the rail. The pin 35 is extended through one set of bolt receiving apertures 2I, 2B in the splice plates and rail section, respectively. Thereupon the lever 28 is swung to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to cause the hooked portion 3| at the lower free end of the lever to engage against the lower outer edge of the base 18 of the opposite splice rail. Thereafter, the

' porate the collar '35 so that the pin may be slid lever-is pulled to tighten the clamp and to cause the respective splice plates I6 to seat firmly against the opposite sides of the rail sections 7 thereby, bringing said rail sections into alignment. The clamp is held in this clamping position while the bolts and nuts '22 are applied through the remaining aligned sets of apertures to secure the splice plates to the rail ends.

It will "be observed that the alignment of the apertures. in 1 the splice plates is first achieved while the splice plates are loosely arranged with relation to the rails, and that thereafter as the clampis tightened to urge thesplice plates firmly against the opposite sides of the rail and to align the joint ends of the rails, the alignment of the plate apertures remains constant. Thus one of the primary advantages of this construction is that it eliminates any necessity 'forseparately manipulating aligning pins, and that once the .pin is applied in the plate and rail'apertures,

itr'emains in place during the clamping operation without requiring special handling thereof.

Stilla further advantage of the construction is r the fact that the aperture alignment of the plates is elfected at the point at which the splice plates are clamped, so that only one set of bolt receiving the splice plates, so that the remaining sets of apertures may receive bolts to permit easyand rapid 'securing of the splice plates to the rail.

By reason of the free sliding of the aligning pin 35 in the bearing 33, it is desirable toincorforwardly until said collar abuts the splice plate to limit its movement atdesired operative posi-:

tion. It will be observed that the forked formation of the lower end of. the lever 28 permits the.

lever to operate without'interference from the projecting free end of the pin 35, and that the forked end freely straddles said pin.

Of further importance'for the purpose offa- I The outward curvature of the portion 30 of the lever'is important with reference to the respective positions which the leverpivot 29 and the hook portion 3| of the lever assume. Additionally, the curvature permits the lever portions to; overlie the base of the splice plates and to assist in holding the lever-engaged splice plate in operative position during initial operation of the clamp. Theserrations or teeth32 on the forks assist in giving a solid engagement between the lever and the splice plate, and prevent sliding-of the lever hook 3| ,relative to the splice 'plate.

Also, the particular form of the lever and the re- 'sultant location of itspivot 29 substantially directly ab'ove the plate engaging hook 3|, permits" 1 clamping operation of thelever to impart an up- Ward component of force to the base of the splice banand hence assure its solid seating against the side of the rail. r

If desired, a bolt (not shown) may be threaded on theouter end of the pin 35, or any suitable head may be applied thereon, for the purpose of plate relative to the rail with a minimum opporconfining movement of the pin between the collar 36 and said head, and thereby holding the parts of the device together at all times.

The shape of the lever 28 with particular respect to the bendof the forks 30 relative thereto may be varied within a wide range. Thus the bend of said forks 30 may be such that the inner ends of said forks are adapted to engage and press against the web I! of the splice bar l6 7 which is engaged by the lever. Such a construction involves contact of the splice bar by the lever at two'points, namely at the web I! by the inner ends of the forks 30 and at the outer edge of the base l8 thereof by the hook lever portions 3|. Hence the application of pressure by the lever occurs on each side of the bolt hole 2| and pin 35, and assures proper positioning of the splice tunity for binding or dislocation of the splice plate upon operation of the clamp.

I claim:

1.. A rail splice clamp comprising a curved frame adapted at one end thereof to engage one rail splice plate, a lever pivoted to the other end of said frame and including a forked portion adapted to engage a rail splice plate opposite said first plate, and an aligning pin slidably carried by said frame adjacent its rail engaging end and adapted to be freely received between the forks of said lever.

2. A fall splice clamp comprising a curved frame adapted atone end'thereof to engage one rail splice plate, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to' one end of said frame, :one end of said lever being forked and theends of said forks .ibeing inwardly bent to engage a rail splice plate opposite said first splice plate, and a pin pivotally and slidably carried by said frame and adapted to pass between said forks.

3. A rail splice clamp comprising a curved frame, a lever having a forked end and pivoted intermediate its ends to'one end of said frame, said frame and lever being adapted to engage 'rected hook portions, anda pin swingingly and slidably carried by said frame and adapted to pass between said forks.

4'; A' rail splice clamp as defined in claim '3,

wherein the convex surfaces of said lever forks -are. serrated adjacent said hook portions -5. A rail splice clamp comprising a frame including a pair of rigidly interconnected and longitudinally curved spaced elongated members, a

lever positioned between and pivoted tosaid mem bers at one end of said frame, one end of said lever being forked, said frame and lever being adapted'to engage opposite rail splice plates a bearing positioned between said members adjacent the 'other'e'nd of said frame and pivoted thereto on an axis parallel to the pivot axis of said lever, and a pin longitudinally slidable in said'bearing and adapted'to extend between the forks of said lever.

6. A rail splice clamp comprising a curved frame, 'a lever pivoted to one end of said frame and having a forked portion, said frame and lever being adapted to engage splice plates at op:

posite sides of a rail, a member pivotedto said frame adjacent the other end thereof, and apin" 

